I Should Have Seen It
by LadyKong
Summary: What really happened when Felger got back from P5S117.
1. Sweet Reunion

Setting: Avenger 2.0 right after Carter and Felger leave for PS5-117

Chloe is typing on the computer, trying to fight back tears

_How could they let him go there? Were they purposefully trying to get him killed? Don't try to think about it, Chloe. Just focus on your work. Working, working, working. They just had to send him with Major Carter, didn't they? I'm starting to like those military idiots less and less and less. I bet he loves that. The perfect opportunity to be alone with the woman of his dreams. Why did I have to kiss him? Oh yea, that's right. I'm in love with him. It's not the superficial infatuation that he has with Major Carter. I truly love him. I would do anything for him. But why does that matter? He will never love me. He's way to busy chasing some bimbo in a green suit to notice what's going on right here in the lab. Chloe, Major Carter is not a bimbo. She's a very respectable woman, and most men would probably find you both equally attractive. Hate the game, not the players. But Jay is not most men. He is brilliant and handsome. I would resign Stargate Command right now if I thought I would have any contact with him afterwards. I just hope that that kiss doesn't have any negative repercussions. Oh well, it was well worth it, I hope._

Meanwhile, Jay sitting and taking a mental break on PS5-117.

_I know I should be in heaven right now, but I'm not. In fact, this is hell. I have the perfect opportunity to be alone with Major Carter, and all I can think about is Chloe. Why didn't I see it? Why has it taken me so long to realize what we have? Chloe accepts me for who I am, screw-ups and all. I have never had anyone care for me so unconditionally, except for Mom. But she has to. Chloe doesn't. I should have seen it in the tender way that she encourages me. The way she rubs my back when I get stressed out. The way she tries to hide her hurt when I brush her aside. I should have seen it. Anyway, why does it matter? Stargate Command regulations clearly state that any relationship that Chloe and I could have would be strictly forbidden. But what if there was no Stargate Command? What if we were just Jay Felger and Chloe Taylor, two regular people? What we had just met somewhere, like at a coffee shop or a party, or some other everyday, normal place? I would have probably asked her out a few times. Maybe we would have gone out on a few dates before getting serious. We probably could be engaged by now. But anyway, Stargate Command does exist. But what if I resigned? They were about to fire me, anyway. _

Scene: Felger's lab

_Chloe is sitting at a computer, sobbing. Jay walks in and sets his field pack down by the door._

Felger: Good, you're still here. _(Notices Chloe's emotional state.) _Hey, what's the matter?

Chloe: _(jumps up and wraps her arms around Felger's waist.)_ Oh, thank God, thank God. _(burries her head in Felger's chest and continues her sobbing.)_

Felger_: (wraps his arms around Chloe's shoulders)_ I missed you, too, Chloe. _( Wraps the front part of his jacket around her and starts to rock her back and forth.)_ Shhhhhh.

Chloe: _(still sobbing) _It's not fair. I was so worried about you.

Felger: _(kisses the top of Chloe's head then rests his chin upon it)_ I'm all right now, so it's no big deal. Hush, my Darling. (_hugs Chloe a little tighter as her sobbing subsides, continues the rocking. Chloe looks up at Felger. He gently pushes her away and takes off her glasses, putting them in his shirt pocket. Then, he pushes away her tears with his thumbs before cupping her face in his hands and kissing her on the forehead). _Chloe, I am so sorry. I had no idea you felt that way about me.

Chloe: I didn't mean to fall for you. It just happened.

_Felger grabs Chloe's hand, leading her to a chair. He then sits down and pulls her onto his lap. Chloe wraps her arm around his shoulder._

Felger: Please, don't apologize. That kiss was probably the best thing that has happened to me in a very long time. It made me realize just what we have between us. Right now, all I want is to be with you forever.

Chloe: But Jay, regulations strictly state that our having any kind of personal relationship is forbidden.

Felger: That's why I'm resigning.

Chloe: _(stands up)_ Are you nuts? Have you finally lost it?

Felger: _(stands up) _No. In fact, this is the first time in quite a while that I am actually thinking clearly.

Chloe: Jay, I know Avenger didn't exactly go the way we wanted it to, but it wasn't your fault. Both - O'Neill and General Hammond said that there was no way that the tampering could have been prevented.

Felger: Need I remind you that General Hammond was just about to send me packing, and that Avenger was just one last desperate attempt to hold on to my position here?

Chloe: I know, but I still think resigning is a little extreme.

Felger: They're probably going to terminate me, anyway, so I might as well save General Hammond a lot of time, trouble, and paperwork.

Chloe: But what about your friendship with Colonel O'Neill?

Felger: Don't be ridiculous. That guy hates my guts. You know what did he call me the other day? A "brown-nosing little weasel." And as for Major Carter, I think she has a thing for Colonel O'Neill. Besides, by the time we got back from P5S-117, I just wanted to rip her head off, and I'm certain that the feeling was mutual. Why didn't anyone tell me she was such a pain in the ass?

Chloe: _(giggles) _Jay, I wanted to, but you wouldn't have listened.

Felger: I'm listening now. What else do you want to tell me, Chloe?

Chloe: That I will always care for you.

Felger: _(smiles)_ I will always care for you, too.

Chloe: _(smiles back then straightens her self back up_) Anyway, as far as resigning goes, I really think you should sleep on it before making any final decisions. Even if you hand in your letter now, it won't be effective until noon tomorrow, so you might as well take the extra time to make sure this is what you really want.

Felger: All right, just for you. (_Taps her nose with his index finger)_ Anyhoo, I need to make a few phone calls to get my ducks lined up. General Hammond actually told me to take the afternoon off, but I just had to come back to the lab to see my girl.

Chloe: Didn't you just spend three days with her?

_Felger gives Chloe a look that could kill._

Felger: You know I was talking about you.

Chloe: Yes, but it's still fun to tease you about her.

Felger: So why don't you start teasing me in other ways? _(wiggles his eyebrows)_

Chloe: Maybe I will.

Felger: Anyway, I gotta go. But first ………. _(pulls out a small piece of paper and a pencil from a drawer, writes something on the paper, and hands it to Chloe.)_ Here's my home number. My mom is supposed to call around seven, so you might want to call between eight and eight-thirty. Bye.

Chloe: All right. _(pulls out purse from under a table and puts paper in it. Felger heads toward the door) _Jay, aren't you forgetting something?

Felger: Oh, yea. _(gives Chloe a short kiss on the lips)_

Chloe: That, too. But I need my glasses back. _(Reaches over and takes them out of his pocket then puts them back on.) _I'm gonna need them to read your handwriting.


	2. Trust Me

After Jay left the lab, I did my level best to go back to work, but there was no way I was going to get anything done. I was way too excited. I frequently checked my purse to make sure that Jay's phone number was still there, not out of fear that I would loose it but as proof that the conversation Jay and I had today was real. The time dragged on like molasses reluctantly leaving a jar. Finally, it was five o'clock. I gathered up my things, signed out, and locked up the lab. Then I walked, no, floated to the bus stop to wait for the shuttle that would take me into Colorado Springs.

When I got back to my apartment, I was dismayed to discover that it was only five-thirty. So after I change into an old sweatshirt and my favorite pair of jeans, I heat up some leftover soup and watch a little TV. Tonight's episode of _That 70s Show _was a hoot. It was the one where Hyde was teaching Jackie all about Zen. I look up at the clock. Six-thirty. . Crap! I still have an hour and a half to go. I went into my bedroom to check my e-mail. Got an email from my older sister and a friend from undergrad. I look at the clock again, and it's only 6:41. I really wish Eight would hurry up and get here. Why don't I play _Sim City _for a while? It's been some time since I've checked on Felgerville, as I have had to spend so much time in the lab recently. I had just gotten the city in the black when I discovered that I had made this big residential area with no schools or electricity. There goes my budget surplus. I really need to get _Rush Hour._

Say, what time is it? 7:54? Close enough. I got my purse from the living room and fished out Jay's number. I then picked up my handset and dial the number, trembling the entire time. One last look to make sure I dialed it correctly before I hit the call button. Chills ran up and down my spine as I hear a few rings, then the moment of glory arrived.

"Hello?" I can't believe I'm hearing Jay's voice. The rush was so immense that all I can do is let out a teeny tiny "hi."

"Oh, Chloe. Listen, I'm still talking to my Mom."

"I am so sorry." I could have just died right then and there from the embarrassment.

"It's no big deal. I just need to say good-bye to her really quick, then we can chat the night away, okay?"

"No, you can talk to your mom as you want."

"But I want to talk to you. Besides, Mom was boring, me going on and on about her cat. I'm sure that conversation with you would be a lot more interesting." I felt like I was on cloud nine.

"All right, if you insist."

"I insist. And if you hang up, I'm just gonna call you back."

"But you don't have my number."

"I have caller ID."

"Oh, yea."

Jay took what seemed like an eternity to get back to me, but it was really less than two minutes. "Miss me?" He asked when he finally got back.

"Of course." It was the understatement of the century, but I didn't want Jay to know that. There was a brief silence.

"So.." he asked, "how was your day?"

"The morning wasn't so great."

"Try waking up on a Gau'uld occupied planet sometime. We couldn't find a decent cup of Joe anywhere."

"No, thank you. You know how I get if I don't get my regular dose of caffeine." We both laughed as there came other silence.

"But things got a lot better once I got back to the lab." His words gave me butterflies.

"Really?"

"Yea." We both sighed as there came yet another silence. "So…. Where are you?"

"In my apartment."

"Duh, I gathered that much. I meant where in your apartment."

"Oh, I'm on the couch."

"Cool, so am I, on my couch, I mean." And there came another silence.

"So……. What do we want to talk about?"'

"I donno. What do you want to talk about?"

"I asked first."

"I asked second."

"I asked firist. What do you want to talk about?" There was another silence.

"Have you given any thought as to what I said in the lab today?"

"Yes, but I'm still resigning."

"Jay, please don't. I'm begging you. Don't resign."

"Like I said earlier, they're probably going to fire me anyway. Besides, I'm just plain sick and tired of the place. Right now, I am really burned out on the whole Stargate thing. I was actually thinking about resigning when the Gate Network broke down. Remember that conversation we had when you were rubbing my back? That's when I was getting the idea."

"If you're so burned out, why don't you just take a vacation? Right now would be the perfect time of year to see the Grand Canyon. And I think a little bit of down time would help you see things more clearly."

"You're just scared that we'll never see each other again, aren't you?"

"Yes, I admit it. Why can't you just take a little more time to think things over?"

"What? And take the risk that I might screw something else up? Maybe we could try to destroy a planet, heck let's think big and go for an entire solar system. Besides, I've already talked to Harvey Baines at MIT and told him I was coming back. Oh, by the way, I have a small surprise for you."

"What is it?"

"Not tellin'. You'll just have to find out when we see each other in the lab."

"Can't I just have a small hint?"

"Nope. And don't worry. We'll definitely be keeping in touch."

"But how can you be sure?"

"You just gotta trust me on this one, Chloe."

We chatted and joked around for a while longer until I noticed that it was almost midnight, about an hour and a half after I usually go to bed.

"Dang! Look at the time. I gotta go and get ready for bed."

"Bed? It's only midnight."

"I usually go to bed between ten and eleven."

"Oh, I usually don't go to bed until one or two in the morning."

"No wonder you're almost always late."

"Ha, ha, ha," he said sarcastically. "Now, good night. And remember, trust me."

"Good night, Jay. I love you."

My heart froze as I heard the Jay hang up.


	3. Final Decision

When Jay didn't say "I love you, too," I felt both disappointment and embarrassment. I admit that it was a bit sudden and that those words are best saved for when our relationship has matured a little, but lately I've been taking so many risks that I figured what's one more. I hope it didn't scare him away. That's the last thing I want to do. Well, he did say that he wanted to be with me forever. I just hope he realizes just how long forever is. Anyway, I was peacefully dreaming about Jay proposing to me when I suddenly looked at the clock, and it was almost ten! I overslept! I never oversleep! I pulled myself together as quickly as I could then rushed out the door.

I can't believe it! Chloe loves me! I didn't know what to say to her. I guess I should have said that I love her, too, but at the time I was just so filled with emotion that I couldn't say anything. Besides, I wanted to be the first to say it. She initiated our first kiss, so I thought it only fair that I get to say the first "I love you." I remember the moment that I realized that I love her. It was on P5S-117. Major Carter was off surveying the area, and I was taking a mental break from Avenger. I was thinking about when my brother, John was dating his now fiancée, Elizabeth. John asked my mom how one knows they are really in love. Mom told him that when you feel like you can reveal your true self to that person, the self that no one else is allowed to see, then you are truly in love. That would definitely describe my relationship with Chloe. I've told her secrets that not even my mother knows. I tell Chloe almost everything. Then I also remembered a definition that I read in a book; I forget which one. It said that when you truly love someone, his or her well-being and happiness becomes essential to your own. I never felt that way about Major Carter, but with Chloe, I now feel like I would do anything for her. When she kissed me, I saw our entire life together flash before my eyes. It's official. I'm in love with Chloe.

Scene: Felger's Lab

_Felger walks in, carrying a bouquet of flowers and a manila envelope. He sets the flowers down, opens the envelope, pulls out some papers and proceeds to look over them a smile on his face. Chloe walks in, out of breath and soaking wet. She rests for a moment then takes off her glasses and wipes them with a tissue that she pulled from the box. Felger picks up the flowers and walks toward her. He then puts them down when he notices how wet she is._

Felger: Morning, dear God, you're drenched! _(Starts looking through cupboards) _Let's see if we can find something you can change into. (_Digs out a sweatshirt and some sweatpants) _I know it's not exactly dress code, but I don't want you to catch cold. Now go to the bathroom and change. _(Chloe takes the bundle and leaves the lab for a while, then comes back, setting down the wet bundle. The clothes are obviously way too big for her. She starts trying to roll up the sleeves.)_

Felger: Here, let me. _(He grabs her wrist and starts to roll up the sleeve for her. He does the same thing with the other sleeve, then kisses her hand when he's done.) _

Chloe: Thank you. (_Notices the flowers as she puts her lab coat on) _Are those the surprise?

Felger: They're a very small part of it. _(Picks up the flowers and hands them to Chloe)_

Chloe: Thank you. They're lovely. I hope they're not a good-bye present.

Felger: No, they're not.

Chloe: So you changed your mind?

Felger: No.

Chloe: So you're sure that you really want to leave Stargate Command forever?

Felger: Yes. And I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop trying to talk me out of it.

Chloe: Well, if your mind is truly made up, _(Felger nods his head, and Chloe sighs) _Then I officially give up on persuading you to stay.

Felger: Thank you. Now for the big surprise. Like I was telling you last night, I have been talking with Harvey Baines about my going back to MIT as a physics professor. You happened to come up in the conversation, and Harvey was very, very impressed. He let it slip that there was an opening for an instructor in the math department, and basically, it's yours for the taking. I've already filled out most of the paperwork for you and written your resignation letter. You just need to sign it. I really, really want you to come with me.

_Felger hands Chloe the resignation letter. She looks at it for a minute, then looks at Felger, then goes back to the letter. _

Chloe: I always told myself that I would follow you to the ends of the earth. I guess Boston is close enough. Now where's a pen? _(Felger takes a pen out of his shirt pocket, retracts it, and hands it to her. Chloe takes a deep breath and smiles as she signs the letter.)_ I can't believe I'm doing this.

_Felger takes the letter and digs out his own resignation letter before putting the other papers back in the envelope. They both then take off their lab coats and drape them over a chair as Felger picks up Chloe's old clothes. Chloe grabs the flowers. Felger looks at his watch. They storm out of the lab and walk briskly up to General Hammond's office. _

Felger: We'd better hurry, it's almost noon right now.

Chloe: Oh, dear.

Scene: Hammond's Office

_The door is open, but there are people inside, talking. Felger and Chloe wait just outside the door and hear everything that is said._

Carter: Please don't, General. Even you said that the virus malfunction was not Dr. Felger's fault.

Hammond: And even you said that he's a complete screw-up. I know he's a scientist in _your _lab and therefore one of your "kids," but Stargate Command cannot afford another catastrophe like that.

O'Neil: Carter, I'm going to have to agree with the General on this one. With that kind of a track record, Felger has got to go. (_He pronounces the name with the soft 'g'.)_

Felger: _(whispering to Chloe) _See, I told you so.

_Chloe rolls her eyes._

Carter: All right, Sir. I'll go down to his lab and tell him right now.

Felger: _(enters the office with Chloe close behind him) _That won't be necessary, uh, Major Carter. I- I'm here to resign. _(Takes his letter from Chloe and hands it to Hammond.)_

Hammond: You were so desperate to hold on to your position here, Dr. Felger. What changed your mind?

Felger: Avenger. I realized that I'm just not Stargate Command material.

O'Neil: That's definitely an understatement.

_Carter gives O'Neil the hairy eyeball._

Felger: It's okay, Major. He has every right to make such comments.

Chloe: I wish to resign as well, Sir. _(Hands Hammond her letter)_

Hammond: Dr. Taylor, you do realize that we understand that you were just following Dr. Felger's orders when you were working on the virus. We had no intention of pursuing any disciplinary action on you whatsoever. We were just going to put you in another lab with another scientist.

Chloe: I'll still be associated with the virus, Sir. Therefore, I still think resignation is the best course of action for me.

Hammond: Well, then, Dr. Felger, Dr. Taylor, God's speed to both of you.

Felger and Chloe: Thank you, Sir. _(both salute then walk out of the office with Carter following them. Not knowing that Carter is behind them, they start holding hands.)_

Felger: Now that that's out of the way, let's blow this popsicle stand. We have three months before the spring semester at MIT begins. Is the Grand Canyon still sounding good to you?

Chloe: You bet.

_Carter watches them walk away as Felger swings Chloe's arm around his waist then puts his arm around her shoulders. Carter sighs and looks up at a picture of O'Neil._

Carter: _(to picture) _Sir, I know all of Felger's previous ideas were not the greatest, but this one isn't half bad. Why can't you follow suit? _(looks around to make sure that no one is looking, kisses her index and middle fingers, then touches them to the lips in the picture and walks in the opposite direction from Felger and Chloe)_


	4. Boyfriend

"Where are you parked?" Jay asked when we hit the Stargate Command parking garage.  
"Uh, I don't have a car."  
"Oh, so how do you get between your place and Stargate Command?"  
"I take the bus. There's a stop right by my apartment and another about a mile away from  
here."  
"You walked a mile in the rain?! You should have called me for a ride, Silly Goose."  
"I didn't wake up until ten."  
"You still should have called. I would have left the lab to come get you."  
"It didn't start raining until I was halfway to SGC."  
"You still should have called me. Anyway, we're in the red pick-up over there." He said  
pointing to a pick-up off alone in the distant corner. When we got there, he unlocked  
the door on the passenger side, took the stuff that I was carrying, put it behind the  
seat, then helped me climb in. "Think we need some luck?" Jay asked as he leaned his  
face as if he wanted to kiss me.  
"Yea." I said as we shared a deep kiss. He tried to wedge himself between my legs and  
pull me closer, thrusting his tongue into my mouth. "Please don't." I gently pushed him  
away. "I'm sorry, Jay." With a disappointed look on his face, he reluctantly closed my  
door and got in on the driver's side. "You're gonna have to give me directions to your  
place, okay?" He started the motor and pulled out of the garage. I could tell that he  
was slightly upset. I never saw him like that before, and it worried me.  
"All right. Act like you're going to the Wal-Mart on Main Street. When you get to the   
light up there, you're gonna want to turn left. Take the second right, and my complex  
should be on the right." I was more worried about his apparent mood than getting back to  
my place. He drove on, not another word was spoken for several minutes.  
"Did I upset you, Jay?"  
"No. Wait, did you think I was upset with you? No… no…. I'm upset with myself for  
trying to push you further than you wanted to go. We'll go as fast or as slow as you  
want, okay?"  
"All right." Just then, my cell phone rang. It was my twin sister, Zoe.  
"I really wanna take this. It's my twin sister."  
"Go ahead."

"Hey, Girly Girl. Long time, no talk. What's going on?" Jay gave me a weird look.  
"Not much. Guess what?"  
"What?"  
"I have new boyfriend."  
"Get outta town." Jay gave me a weirder look.  
"No, for real. So how's Chloe-Land?"  
"Pretty good, right now. I also have a new boyfriend, I think."

"What do you mean? _You _have a boyfriend? Little Miss I-don't-wanna-date-and-never-will? And what do you mean by 'I think'? You either have one or you don't. Or does he not know that he's your boyfriend yet?"  
"No. We just haven't DTRed, yet." Jay gave me an even weirder look. "Listen, Honey, I'm almost home. Can I call you back later?"  
"Sure, Sweetie. I love you."  
"Love you. Bye."  
Something felt so surreal when we pulled into my apartment complex. Before, home was  
home, and work was work. But now the two worlds were meshing. It was awkward, but in a nice way. We got out of the car, and I grabbed my keys from my purse.

Jay gave me the same look he gave me while I was talking to Zoe. "'Girly Girl'? 'Get outta town'? You don't talk like that."

"I do when I'm talking to my sister."

"And what is 'DTR-ing'?"

"Define the Relationship."

"I thought you did that the other day in the lab when you laid that smacker on me."  
"Help yourself to anything in the fridge, and the remote is on the coffee table." I told  
him when we finally got inside. " I'm gonna pack a few things and change into some   
better fitting clothes. It shouldn't take me more than about ten minutes." I ran into  
the bedroom and took off my shirt and bra. I just remembered that all my clean bras were   
hanging to dry in the bathroom across the hall. As a force of habit and forgetting for a moment that Jay was there, I tried to dart to the bathroom without putting my shirt back on. As luck would have it, I darted right into him.  
"Hey, this is nice. I didn't think you were ready to go this far, yet, but I'm game for  
anything." He said as I screamed and ran into the bathroom, totally mortified.  
"I am soooooo sorry!" I squeaked out from behind the safety of the bathroom door. Jay,   
on the other hand, was laughing so hard he could barely talk.  
"Oh, that was great!!! Don't worry. You can flash me any time you want." He said when he finally recovered from rolling all over my hallway floor, laughing.  
"It's not funny." I protested, still hiding in the bathroom.  
"You're right, you're right. It's not funny." He said in a very serious tone.  
"Thank you." I heaved a sigh of relief.

"It's fucking hilarious!" And the hackling continued.

"Why don't you come out now?" He asked when he calmed down for the second   
time.  
"Just go into the bedroom and grab a t-shirt from second drawer of the dresser."

"Why should I when I could have an encore presentation?"  
"Sorry to disappoint you, Jay, but I do have a bra on, this time."  
"Oh well."  
Then I saw it. My savior. My rescuer from this embarrassing situation. There, in the  
corner by the tub. My nightshirt from that morning called to me. I threw it on and   
emerged from my prison.

"Ah, shucks!" Jay said as he snapped his fingers.

"Don't expect that again for quite a while."

"Yes, M'am." He said in fake shame.

I went into the bedroom, closed and locked the door, and changed into a clean t-shirt. I then changed from Jay's sweatpants to my favorite pair of jeans. "Jay, you can come in now. I'm decent." I unlocked and opened the door.

"You're no fun." Jay said as he entered the bedroom.

I pulled a duffle bag and a backpack from the closet and started stuffing clothes and other things into them. Jay sat down on the bed, trying desperately to contain his laughter.

"Jay……"

"Yes?"

"Drop it." I put some make-up in the small compartment of my backpack.

"Anyway, so you think you have a new boyfriend. What's his name? Should I go break his kneecaps?"

"I was actually referring to you. So are you my boyfriend?"

"I donno. Am I?"

"I donno. Are you?"

"Do you want me to be your boyfriend?"

"Do you want to be my boyfriend?  
"I think I do."

"Okay, that settles it. You're my boyfriend." I sat on the bed and put my head on his shoulder.

"Yea. I'm your boyfriend." He wrapped his arm around me.


	5. Siblings, Marriage, and Mountain Dew

"I didn't know you had a twin sister." Jay said after we had been on the road for a couple hours.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me, Jay." I replied. "As I'm sure there's a lot that I don't know about you."

"Yea, but you know a lot more about me than I do about you. Let's see here, Chloe Annabel Taylor. You were born October 15, 1978. You attended Harvard at only 14, got your bachelor's with a major in math at 17, your masters in physics at 19, and your Ph.D. in Astrophysics at 22. You were an instructor at UCLA for three years before joining Stargate Command about a year ago. That's a lot for just 26 years. Oh yeah, and you give awesome back rubs. And today, I learned that you have a twin sister named Zoe. "

"And I know all about your life at SGC, but precious little else. For example, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I have two brothers, Jack and John. I don't know why, but my mom thought it would be cute if we all had one syllable names just like my dad, James."

"And what's your mother's first name?"  
"Jane. So do you have any other siblings besides Zoe?"

"Yes. Three other sisters and four brothers."

"Huge family. I would have hated to see that grocery bill."

"Yeah, but it was a lot of fun. No one was hardly without a playmate."

"So what's everyone's names?"

"From oldest to youngest, it's Caroline, Richard, Zoe and I, Jay, Juliet, Geoffry, Paul, and Amy."

"Yikes, it's gonna take me a while to remember all of them."

"Yea, everyone has that problem. It's like trying to remember the seven dwarfs or Santa's reindeer. It's not as bad as Uncle Jonas and Aunt Charity, though. They have fifteen kids. Even I can't name them all from oldest to youngest. So what's the birth order with you and your brothers?"

"Jack, John, then me, and we're all exactly two years and a day apart. June is a crazy month for my mom."

"I bet. I know your birthday is June 26, so Jack's is June 25, and John's is the 24th, right?"

"Right. Say, you don't want a big family, do you?"

"I never really thought about it before. To tell you the truth, I never really saw myself having children or even getting married for that matter. I always saw myself as the spinster aunt who would just go around kidnapping my nieces and nephews from time to time. I might consider marriage if the opportunity ever arose, but it hasn't yet, and frankly, I don't think it will any time soon."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Would you consider marrying me?"

"Are you proposing?"

"God, no. It's way too early for that."

"I totally agree."

"I'm just testing the waters to see of you are at least open to the idea because it would be a total shame for you to follow me across the country if you weren't at least open to the idea of a permanent relationship with me, which in my book, involves marriage."

"Good. As long as you weren't asking me to make any final decisions."

"Okay, then. It's settled. You have brother named Jay?"

"Yea, it's kinda creepy, isn't it?"

"I'd say. It would get very interesting if I ever went to one of your family reunions."

"Yea, and if we ever got married, I'd feel sorry for everyone else's kids."

"Why?"

"Two Uncle Jays." We both laughed and drove on for about another hour or two, talking about nothing and everything.

"Hey, I don't think we're going to make it all the way to the Grand Canyon tonight." He mentioned "Do you wanna stop for the night somewhere?"

"Guess we'll have to, but it's a little late to make reservations."

"I know where we're gonna stay tonight. Just leave everything to me. Looks like we're gonna need some gas, too."

So we pulled into a service station. Jay got out, took a credit card out of his wallet, messed with the gas pump to activate the "pay at the pump" system. Once he got the gas pump working, he handed me a ten.

"Go inside, get me a one-liter Mountain Dew, a bag of Fritos, a Snickers, and whatever you want. I haven't eaten all day, and I don't think you have, either."

"No, I haven't. I didn't really think about it until now, but I'm starved."

I went in, got everything Jay wanted plus a Dr. Pepper, some Doritos and M&M's for me, paid for everything, As I got back out to the truck and opened my chips, I saw Jay off about fifteen feet away from the pavement. It looked like he was talking on the phone and had a cigarette in his mouth. He looked over at me, dropped whatever he had in his mouth, stomped on it, hung up his cell phone, and headed back to the truck. When he got in, he had the same smell that he often did when he got back from lunch break at Stargate Command.

"Good news," he said to me, "we definitely have a place to stay tonight. And it will probably relieve you to know that we have separate rooms."

"Yes, it does. So where is it?"

"You'll see. The down side, or the up side depending on how you look at it, is that we'll be sharing a bathroom."

"Oh, Okay."

"And there is a huge dinner waiting for us."

"Goody! I'm starved." I said as I took a big bite of my candy bar. Just then, my phone rang again. "Shoot! I forgot to call Zoe back."

"Go ahead." Jay rolled his eyes.

So I answered the call. "Hey, Girl. Sorry I didn't call you back. I've been with my new boyfriend all day." Jay smiled when he heard the word, "boyfriend."

"So I assume this guy has a name."

"Jay. Jay Felger. And he is amazing. He's a scientist like you and me." Jay blushed when heard that.

"Cool. So is my boyfriend."

"How long have you guys been seeing each other?"

"Two months."

"Two month?! And you're just now telling me?!"

"Well, I've been busy. So how long have you and Jay been seeing each other?"

"I'm really not sure. It's kinda complicated. I think we started this week."

"I wanna know all the mushy details next time we see each other."

"I'm not really sure how much I can tell you. You see, I met him at work."

"Ah, and part of the story is work related, right?"

"Right."

"Is he your boss?"

"Was. We both resigned today."

"How romantic. That's how Simon and I met."


	6. Titanic

"Well, here we are. Get your pack, and I'll worry about your other stuff in a bit." Jay pulled the truck into a driveway in an old, but not too slummy neighborhood. The house almost looked like it could be historic. It was blue with a great big porch that wrapped all the way around the front with a porch swing on it. It looked like it had two stories, a basement, and an attic. There were trees and bushes all over the front yard, and everything looked very well kept. There was a tall picket privacy fence that hid the back yard from the street. The porch light was on.

"Jay, this is someone's house."

"I know."

"So it's safe to presume that you know the people that live in this house?"

"Very well."

Just then, an old lady with curly silver hair and bi-focals came out. She was so small and skinny that I was almost afraid to touch her for fear that I might break her. She wore tan slacks and a flower print blouse with those little ties attached to the collar tied in a bow. She hobbled over to Jay and gave him a big hug, or as big as she could in that frail body of hers. When she finally spoke, her voice cracked.

"Jay, why don't you come and visit more often? You know how lonely your father and I get now that both of your brothers have moved back east." Who knew that so much spirit could be packed into such a little body?

"I'm sorry. You know I've been busy at work. But now, I'll have plenty of time on my hands."

"They finally fired you? Got tired of your screwing up all the time?"

"No, Mom. I quit."

"Jane, why didn't you tell me Jay and his friend had arrived?" An old man with thin, white hair came out. I could only assume that it was Mr. Felger. "Jay, what's this I hear about you quitting? You know a real man never quits." He was only an inch or two taller than his wife, about three or four inches shorter than Jay, and he was almost as slender as Mrs. Felger. He was wearing dark slacks, a light blue dress shirt, penny loafers, and black suspenders. What little hair he had looked like it was slicked back.

"Dad, they were about to fire me, anyway. "

Mr. Felger gave Jay the hairy eyeball before looking over at me. "You must be that cute little assistant Jay was going on about last night. Pleased to meet you, Chloe. Make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Mr. Felger."

"Well, we'd better get in before the dinner gets cold." Mrs. Felger motioned for the rest of us to follow her into the house.

"So how is Zeus doing?" Jay asked. Just then, both Mr. and Mrs. Felger got very awkward looks on their faces. "Zeus, where are you?" Jay called when he got into the house. "Zeus?"

We stepped into a narrow hall way with a flight of stairs straight ahead. There were two archways, one on either side of us. As I peeked into the room on the right, I couldn't help but notice how neat and orderly everything was. Even on the small table where the mail was, all the bills, ads, and letters were neatly sorted and stacked. Everything looked so meticulously placed that I could hardly imagine that anyone lived there. In fact, it looked more like a lobby than the living room of someone's home.

"Uh, Jay… Zeus was killed in a pack fight about a week ago." Mrs. Felger finally told him.

"Oh." Jay had a very shocked expression on his face.

"That's why your mother was trying so desperately to get a hold of you." Mr. Felger said.  
"So why didn't you tell me last night when we were talking on the phone?"

"You were so excited about Chloe that I didn't have the heart to say anything." Mrs. Felger.

Jay sighed. "Oh well… He was a very old dog." He turned to me. "We got him just before I finished my undergrad."

"So he was a very old dog?" I said as we all went into the dining room and sat down. Mrs. Felger went into the kitchen to get a couple more things.

"Mrs. Felger, can I help you with anything?"

"No, Dear. Besides, if I want help, I'll ask Jay."

"Jay, would you mind saying grace?" Mr. Felger asked when his wife returned and set a few things on the table. Jay did as he was asked, and then we all started eating.

"So Dad, how's your sermon coming?" Crap! I forgot that Jay had mentioned that his father was a minister. I just hope that he didn't get offended by the fact that I called him Mr. Felger and not Reverend Felger.

"Very well, Son. Thank you."

After all four of us ate our fill and then some, Jay and his dad went to go get the rest of our stuff while Mrs. Felger and I cleaned up the kitchen and dining room.

"All right," Reverend Felger said when the guys got back in, "Jay will sleep in his room, and Chloe can sleep in Jack's room."

"Dad, didn't you turn Jack's room into an office when he and Samantha got married?"

"Yes, but John's room is too close to your room. Besides, your mother has a whole bunch of stuff piled in there."

" I've been meaning to move it, but other things just keep getting in the way. Anyway, I'm going to bed. James, are you coming with me?"

"Yes, Dear." He said it in the kind of tone you always hear on TV. It made me laugh. "You two kids be good and don't stay up two late. Remember, you are at a preacher's house." Jay rolled his eyes, and I blushed.

As soon as his parents went to bed, Jay went into the living room and opened the large cupboard over the fireplace to reveal a large but old-fashioned TV. He then plopped down on the sofa, grabbed the remote from a bag hanging off its arm, and patted the area next to where he was sitting, motioning me to sit next to him, which I did. He put his arm around me and pushed the on button on the clicker. And once again, my cell phone rang, and once again, it was Zoe.

I looked up at Jay. "I'm not gonna answer it this time. In fact …." I turned my cell phone off.

"Good Girl." He patted me on the head. "So what do we want to watch?" He started flipping channels.

"I don't know… Hey! Look, it's _Titanic._"

"Uh, I don't think so. An overrated, three-hour, not-even-historically-accurate documentary is not- is that a tit?" Jay suddenly got very interested. I whacked him with a cushion that was on the other side

"What's men's fascination with our breasts?"

"Well, I can't speak for most men, but since I was adopted and, therefore, bottle-fed, so I never got that intimacy that most babies get."

"I didn't know that you were adopted. So was I."

"Really?" Jay turned off the TV. "So did you ever want to contact your biological parents?"

"Actually, my birthmother died of drug overdose, and my biological father was killed in a gang fight. I was adopted as an older child."

"So you spent some time in foster care?"

"Quite a bit, but it's a complicated story that I really don't want to dive into right now. So what about you and your biological parents?"

"I never really had a desire to contact them, except for a brief period after I finished high school. I was adopted as an infant, and it never really made sense to me to look for people I had never met. I almost went looking for my biological mother, but then one of my cousins had to give a baby up for adoption. She said that if the baby ever found her, she would not know how to deal with it. I then decided that I didn't want to put such a selfless woman through something so painful."

"I can understand that. But how were your parents able to get the three of you? I have an uncle and aunt that wanted to adopt a baby, and it took them ten years to adopt one."

"Things were different back then."

"So I'm told."

"Anyway, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, something I should have asked yesterday or last night."

"What?"

"Do you know how old I am?"

"By looking at you, I'd guess mid to late thirties."

"Actually," he gave the usually giggle that he does when he's nervous. "Actually, I'm….. um ….. I'm 47. That's quite an age difference, isn't it?"

"Yes, but age-gap marriages are pretty common in my family. My dad is twelve years older than my mom, and my brother-in-law is seventeen years older then my sister."

"Still, you have to admit that twenty-one years is still a fairly good stretch."

"I see that I'm not the only one that's good with numbers." We both laughed.


	7. Wine and a Song

Chloe leaned back into my embrace as we both sighed at the same time. It was so nice. If I had a choice between chasing Jaffa on any planet in the world or being right here in this moment with Chloe, Chloe would win any day. After everything that happened with Avenger, it's just really great to sit here and relax with the only person outside of my family to whom I have ever truly felt close to. I mean, the whole thing with Colonel O'Neill and the rest of SG1 was just my own fantasy. I realize that now. You could say that Avenger has made me realize a lot of things. First and foremost, it has made me realize that there is a beautiful woman that cares for me and truly understands me, better than I understand myself. And yet, I know almost nothing about her. Who knew there was such an amazing person under the glasses and lab coat?

"Tell me more about yourself." I softly whispered.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"Everything. I want to know your hopes, your fears, what makes you happy, what makes you angry, your favorite childhood memories, what kind of books you read, what kind of movies and TV shows you like, your favorite color, your religious and political beliefs, your life's story. I want to know everything about you, and yet, fifty years from now, I still want to feel like I am just getting to know you."

"Okay, where should we start?"

"Besides giggling on your cell phone with your sister and hanging out with me, what do you like to do in your spare time?"

Chloe laughed. "Not that I've had much of that recently, just kidding. Well, I like to go to plays and orchestra concerts. Also….." Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she jumped to her feet. She ran to her large duffle bag in Jack's room. When she came out, she was carrying a small case.

"I didn't see that when you were packing."

"Yea, well, I snuck it in there." She opened the case to reveal an old but well-maintained flute. "Wait a minute… I don't want to wake your parents."

"They're both really heavy sleepers. Besides, we are on the other end of the house from them. Come on, I wanna hear you play."

"All right." She started taking pieces out of the case and putting them together. "It may not sound all that good. Remember, I haven't had much time to practice in quite a while."

"I'm sure it will sound just fine." I coaxed. She licked her lips before starting to play _Bavarian Lullaby. _I started to sing along.

"I didn't realize that tune had lyrics." She said when the song was over.

"Grandpa Felger used to sing that song."

"You have a good voice."

"Thank you. You play really well."

"Well, I was a double math and music major. It was a very common major combination. In fact, we had our own nickname: the M&Ms."

I couldn't help but laugh at that one. "I like it. You know, I have a Ph.D. in Music."

"So it's astrophysics, music, what, and what?"

"Theology and history."

"Interesting combination. I can see the astrophysics and theology, but-"

"Theology was kinda just to humor Dad. Actually, it was the only way that he was willing to put me through grad school at all."

"And what about music and history?"

"I had a band when I was in high school called the Eager Geeks. I was the drummer, since they thought I'd be too clumsy to handle anything else. We drifted after graduation, but I always had a desire to rekindle that aspect of my life."

"Omigosh, a friend once gave me a cassette tape of a group called the Eager Geeks. I never listened to it, but I never quite dug up the nerve to throw it out. I just have this thing about throwing out gifts. The title of one of the songs always amused me though. I think it was called _Thumping Mud._"

"Interesting. I wrote that song."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"That's so cool. Wow! I feel like I've gotten to know you better in just these past two days than I have the entire time we worked together in that lab."

"I know the feeling. In some ways, I feel like I've known you all my life. And yet, it's like I'm meeting you for the first time."

"Oh, Jay, that is so sweet." I blushed as she scooted closer and leaned up against me again, letting out a small shiver.

"Are you cold?"

"Not anymore. Ah, this is so nice."

"Yea, but I know of a couple things that would make it even nicer." I got out from under her and walked into the garage to get some firewood. Once I had the fire lit, I went back to my room to get the bottle of wine that I had in my duffle bag, then it was off to the kitchen for two cups.

"Just don't tell my parents, okay? They would totally flip." He said as he opened the bottle and poured the wine.

"All right." An hour later, we were both quite tipsy.

"I think I'm drunk." Chloe said.

"We're both drunk." I added as I topped up my glass. "More?"

"Please. So, what exactly happened with that midterm lab?"

"Promise not to laugh?" I poured what was left into her glass.

"Okay."

I took a huge gulp of my wine. "Well, we were supposed to find the boiling points of both HCL and water. Part of the lab was to slowly add water to see if it would affect the boiling time and how much the effect would be. Well, I got the labels mixed up and accidentally poured HCL into the boiling water. A huge mushroom cloud covered the classroom, and the corner of my worksheet got into the flame. Not realizing what had happened, I set my worksheet on a stack of Mr. Hoffman's papers. In an attempt to save the apparatus, I spilled HCL onto the already burning pile. Next thing I know, all the other students are in the hall, and the classroom is just one big inferno."

Chloe was all over the floor, laughing so hard that she had trouble breathing. "I'm so sorry, Jay," She said when she could finally speak. "but that is just way too funny."

"But you promised."

"Just think of it as revenge for this afternoon."

"It wasn't my idea that you come out of your room topless."

"No, but you could have handed me a t-shirt."

"But what would have been the fun in that?" We both got very quiet. "Anyway, I really should have gotten out of science then and there. Everybody's lives would have been so much easier."

"I still disagree, Jay. Like I said last week, you're a brilliant scientist."

"Yeah, I'm brilliant at screwing things up. Now you, on the other hand, you're the brilliant one in this outfit. After all, Avenger was originally _your _idea. I just added the parts that turned it from a masterpiece to a master catastrophe."

"That was Ba'al's doing, remember?"

"I should have thought to prevent something like that from happening."

"How?"

"I don't know. I just think there was something that could have been done."

"And if I'm such a great scientist, why was I just a lab assistant?"

"Your age and lack of experience. I'm sure that if you had the opportunity to mature at SGC, you could have given Major Carter a serious run for her money."

"I doubt it."

"Oh come on. You know how old she was when she got her Ph.D.? 31. Huge difference between 31 and 22. Besides, she has been at SGC for seven years, and you hadn't even been on the scene six months."

"Major Carter wasn't home schooled, either."

"You were home schooled?"

"Yea."

"So were all the kids home schooled or just you?"

"Zoe, Jay, and I. Basically, all the adopted kids except Amy. It started out as a way to get us all caught up without using special ed, but then, before we knew it, we were so far ahead of our peers that my parents decided we were better off staying with home school. With all the emotional problems we had at the time, we kinda needed the extra attention. They tried to get the biological kids involved too, but all of them preferred going to school with their friends. Besides, my mom always said she liked having that extra time with the adopted kids."

"That makes sense. But anyway, I'm starting to just get sick of science all together. The way I feel right now, if I see another test tube again, it will be too soon. And I really don't want to put on another lab coat again, even if it's just for Halloween."

"You don't really mean that, Jay, and you know it. You're a scientist. It's a part of who you are. Just like me, you live and breathe science. Jay Felger not wanting to be a scientist anymore would be like Picasso not wanting to be an artist anymore or Mozart not wanting to be a musician anymore."

"Oh, Chloe, if only everyone saw me the way you do."

"First and foremost, you need to start seeing yourself that way."

"You know, when we first met, I was _extremely_ attracted to you."

"Really?"

"Really. But then with the way you acted toward me, I started to think that I had better chances with Major Carter."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you were always so critical of me, and I guess I took it to mean that you didn't care for me the same way I cared for you. Remember the first day Major Carter was working with us, and we were running that simulation?"

Chloe nodded her head. "I wanted so badly to hug you."

"I know, but if we had hugged, I probably would have never let you go."

Chloe looked over at the clock. "Good gracious, it's four am. I need to go to bed. Good night, Jay."

"Good night, Chloe. I love you."

Chloe smiled. "I love you, too, Jay."


	8. Tardis

BANG! Lightning lit up the sky as thunder shook the house and rain started pouring down. It rudely woke me from my sweet dreams. Fear and trepidation ran down my spine as I did what I instinctively do during a thunderstorm; I threw on my bathrobe, went downstairs and looked for a place to hide in case of a tornado. In some ways, I felt so rude wandering around someone else's house, but I was so scared. You might think it silly that a grown woman should be so afraid of a thunderstorm, but when I was about eleven, a tornado ripped through my town and destroyed a church, half the houses, the roof of the high school, and the post office. The funniest thing about it was that it was just a light, steady rain the entire day leading up to it. Ever since then, I've been deathly afraid of thunderstorms. I've gotten better since then, but I still get scared with a storm this bad.

I wandered around the first floor of the Felgers' house until I found the door to the basement. I then found a nice sturdy table and hid under it. I know it's a totally irrational fear, and that it's totally the wrong time of the year for a tornado. Besides, most tornados occur on the other side of the state, closer to Tornado Alley. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps coming down from the kitchen. I then heard whoever it was going through boxes and muttering to himself. The voice sounded to deep to be Mrs. Felger, but I couldn't tell if it were Mr. Felger or Jay. My plan was to keep quiet until he or she was gone and then sneak back upstairs. I then heard him or her trip over some empty boxes. It had to be Jay. The next thing I knew, we were staring right at each other.

"Chloe, what are you doing down there?" He said with a very puzzled look on his face.

"Uh, um," I crawled out from under the table and proceeded to help him up. "Well, Jay, I'm frightened of thunderstorms."

"Oh, Chloe, we both know the science behind thunderstorms. Why do they still scare you?"

I proceeded to tell him about the tornado that happened when I was young. Suddenly, we both heard another bang of thunder. He held me close and started to rock me the way he did in the lab the other day.

"Are you all right now, Chloe?"

"I am now that you're here. How about you? It sounded like you took quite a spill, there."

"I'm okay, but we need to get back upstairs before Mom and Dad wake up."

"All right." Jay took my hand, and we walked back up to the kitchen. When we got back upstairs, I heard another bolt of thunder and rushed into Jay's arms.

"Come on, let me show you that it isn't so bad." He took my hand and led me to the back porch. When the storm calmed down a bit, he took me out into the rain and gently kissed me. "I hear that kissing in the rain is supposed to be romantic." He said to me with a smile. We just stood there and held each other for a few minutes before going back into the house.

"Well, Chloe, I have some good news and some bad news." He said to me later that morning. "The bad news is that my tuck is broken down and will need to go into the shop."

"So what's the good news, Jay?"

"The good news is that my parents will let us use their RV on the condition that we behave ourselves, if you know what I mean."

"All right. Sounds like it's gonna be fun."

"Oh yea. I remember all the times my brothers and I had in that thing. The summer before John went off to college, he and I lived in it for a whole month. He wanted to experience a small taste of life on his own before he actually left home."

"Wait a minute! I just remembered that I don't have a sleeping bag."

"It's no big deal. You can use Jack's. I'll go get it along with mine from the shed. There's something else I want from there."

"What?"

"That's a surpise."

First, Jay came back with two sleeping bags and put them in the RV. Then he went back to the shed with his dad and came back with a very large tube wrapped in an old blanket.

"Is that a-?" I asked.

"Yep. A 22-inch Schmidt-Cassigrain."

"I'm looking forward to that."

"Thought you might."

About thirty minutes and a trip to the supermarket later, Jay and I were on the road again.

"Why did you decide to become a scientist?" Jay asked me as the sun was setting into the horizon.

"Mostly because of that tornado I was telling you about earlier. I thought that maybe if I knew how the natural world worked, it wouldn't be so scary. But it just seems like the more I learn, the less I really know."

"Yea, I know that feeling."

"So why did you decide to become a scientist?"

"Basically the same reason. I was the kid who always asked, "why is the sky blue?" And for some reason, my dad's response of "because God made is that way" just wasn't good enough. I wanted to know about the light particles that scattered when they hit the earth's atmosphere. It was also a great way to rebel against my dad without having to do something crazy like getting a tattoo."

"Yea," I laughed. "Actually, I'm kinda living one of my mom's dreams."

"How so?"

"Well, both of my mom's sisters were scientists, but she just didn't have what it took. It always troubled my mom, as if there was something wrong with her. She thought that maybe if she had a daughter or two that went into science, it would make up for what she lacked. You could say that I was somewhat raised to be a scientist. Every year for my birthday, I got a new chemistry set."

"I would have hated that. You know, in this thing we could go anywhere we want."

"Yea, we could. It's kinda like our TARDIS."

"And I can be 'the Doctor.'"

"I'm glad you got that little joke. Say, can we go see Zoe? She lives just inside the Arizona border."

"I don't know, Chloe. We didn't exactly make that much progress yesterday, and I was really hoping we could get to the park tonight so that we can go sightsee tomorrow."

"Pleeeeeeaaaaase. It has been forever, and I really want to meet Simon."

"Simon?"

"Her new boyfriend."


	9. Scary Star Trek

"Zoe, you will not believe where I am."

"Where?"

"Just about twenty minutes outside Pointe."

"So are you gonna come and see me?"

"Of course."

"This will be great. You can tell me all about Jay, and I'll tell you all about Simon."

"Actually, how about if I go one better and show you Jay."

"Sounds great. I'll call Simon and the four of us can hang out."

"Cool. See you in about twenty minutes."

"Bye, love you."

"Love you."

"We need to make a stop at the 7-eleven up here. I think we're low on gas." Jay said when I got off the phone with Zoe.

"The indicator says we have half a tank." I pointed out.

"Well, I need to use the restroom."

"All right."

When we got there, Jay started to walk off away from the building.

"Jay, I believe the restrooms are inside."

"Well… um……" He started to act the way he used to when he got in trouble with Colonel O'Neil or General Hammond.

"Jay….."

"Yes?"

"I know you smoke."

"You do?"

"Yea."

"Oh. I guess I should have gone further off last night."

"Actually, I figured out that you smoke shortly after I became your assistant. I mean you always made the lab reek of nicotine when you came into the lab in the mornings and after lunch. Besides, I doubted those rectangular bulges in the pocket of your lab coat were decks of playing cards. Right now, we're just getting your little habit out in the open."

"So why didn't you ever say anything?"

"It wasn't any of my business."

"Well, since you know, I guess there's no point in going off into the woods." He took a pack and a lighter out, stuck a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it. "I know, I, of all people, should know what smoking does to my body, but it really helped me handle pressure. I've been trying to quit for years. I almost had it, too. Then Avenger happened, and I just couldn't handle the stress without some form of relaxer."

Even though I knew for quite a while that Jay smoked, it still felt weird to actually watch him do it. Because he was trying to be so secretive about it at Stargate Command, I almost felt as if I were intruding. The wind blew a puff of smoke right into my face, and I voluntarily coughed.

"Sorry." He said and then moved so that he was downwind from me.

"Say, what were you looking for down in the basement this morning, besides me?"

"How do you know I was looking for something?"

"Because you were shuffling through boxes and muttering to yourself."

"Oh. Nothing."

"All right."

"I was looking for my high school ring."

"Oh?"

"I was thinking maybe you could wear it."

"Hmmmm. I'm not really good with jewelry. I'd hate to loose something like that. In fact, I've always said that if I get married, my husband had better give me a simple band so that if I loose it, it wouldn't be that big of a deal."

"I'll keep that in mind, but I'd still like you to wear it. We'll probably have put some tape around the band."

"I guess we should get back on the road." Jay said as he stuck the cigarette in the ash tray. "You wanna drive?" He asked as he held up the keys.

"Sure." Jay tossed me the keys.

"All right, let's go meet Zoe and her boyfriend. You and Zoe will probably go off leaving me with the looser."

"I donno, Jay. She did say that Simon was a scientist. You two must have at least something to talk about."

"All right. I'll try not to act _too_ board."

-

-

About fifteen minutes later, we arrived as a small mobile home out in the middle of nowhere. "Now be good, Jay." Chloe wiggled her finger at me before knocking at the door. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a young woman that looked just like Chloe, only she was slightly taller, didn't wear glasses, had longer, curly hair, and a slightly deeper voice. They both squealed out each other's names, hugged, then Zoe bade us both to come in. Sitting at the table, I saw a very familiar face.

"Simon, what are you doing here?"

"I'm Zoe's boyfriend."

"You two know each other?!" The girls said simultaneously.

"Yea, Chloe, this is Coombs. You remember me telling you about him, don't you?"

"Oh, yea. Pleased to finally meet you."

"So _you're _Chloe. Now I know what Felger was going on and on about."

"What!"

"Never mind."

"Hey, Chloe…" Zoe chimed in, "Do you remember when we were kids and would scream during the opening credits to _Star Trek_?"

Chloe let out chuckle.

"Yea, Zoe was doing that earlier when we were watching it." Coombs said.

"What?" I asked.

"When our brother, Jay, was a toddler," Chloe explained, "He got very frightened by the opening credits of _Star Trek_. You know, when the Starship Enterprise whooshes across the screen? Anyway, in an attempt to help him overcome that fear, we all would scream during the opening credits, and it's been a tradition ever since."

"Sorry, Simon, force of habbit." Zoe looked over at Coombs. "In fact, Chloe and I used to only watch it for the opening credits. Once they were done, we'd go back to playing while Caroline and Richard actually watched the show."

Just then, _Star Trek _came on, and you know what the girls were doing during the opening credits.


	10. The Real Ending

Jay and Chloe reached the RV park just outside the Grand Canyon around seven that evening. It was a mad rush to get everything set up before dark, but they made it. After dinner at the nearby hamburger stand, they decided it was time to break out the telescope and do a little bit of star gazing.

"I wonder where P5S-117 is." Chloe said while Jay was setting everything up.

"You just had to mention _that _place, didn't you?"

"Sorry. I didn't know that that mission was so traumatic for you. You were so excited when you left."

"I'm not just talking about P5S-117. I'm talking about Stargate Command in general. I don't want SGC mentioned for quite a while. Understand?" Jay snapped.

"Yes, Jay. It's just that SGC has been a part of both of our lives for so long that it seems like there's very little else to talk about."

"What about your beauty?"

Chloe just had to blush and giggle at that one.

"All I'm saying, Chloe, is that we should focus on the future instead of the past. Like what life is going to be like when we get to MIT. You know, last week, I was doing a lot of thinking and soul searching while on P5X-117 and-"

"I thought you didn't want anything SGC related mentioned for a while."

"Okay… yea…… just hear me out, will ya? Anyway, this past week, ever since you kissed me, I've just been thinking about how much better my life could be. I did a lot of thinking about you, and about us. Then it hit me. Out of all the lab assistants at SGC, I ended up with you. I requested a lab assistant at the exact same time that you arrive at SGC. You almost ended up in Dr. Lee's lab, but someone decided last minute that you belonged in mine. If that's not fate, I don't know what is. Then you and I worked together so well. You knew exactly what to do, and you were so patient with me, more so than anyone else I've ever known. You see, Chloe, I've realized that life isn't necessarily about being a hero, but about surrounding yourself with people who love you."

"Okay, I didn't know we got sucked into a Hallmark commercial."

"Well, let's see if I ever try to be romantic with you again."

"You will."

"How do you know?"

"Let's just say that you might want help with ties, and you definitely want to be on my good side when that time comes."

"Good point."

Later that night, after they had gone to the bathrooms to brush their teeth, they were trying to decide on sleeping arrangements. They had converted the dining table into a bunk, and there was another bed above the driver's seat.

"Forgive me, Chloe."

"For what?"

"For this." And with that, Jay grabbed Chloe and threw her onto the bed, laid on top of her and started to kiss her passionately.

"What was that all about?" Chloe asked when Jay was done. They were still on the bed, and she was cradled in his arms.

"You know, Chloe, you're gonna love Christmas in Boston, and I can't wait to show you Little Italy."

They spent the next day touring the Grand Canyon and taking pictures with a camera they bought at the gift shop. While they were resting, Jay got a call on his cell phone. It was Major Carter.

"Major Carter, what a surprise."

"Jay, there's no time for pleasantries. There is a huge Ga'uld attack right now, and we need all the help we can get."

"You want me to return to SCG?"

"Yes, and if you can find Chloe, that would be even better."

"I'll see what I can do." Jay hung up to phone. "Well, looks like they need us back at SGC."

Chloe sighed. "Oh well, it was fun while it lasted."

Back at Stargate Command, everything has pretty much returned to status quo. Jay went back to worshipping SG1 and drooling over Major Carter. It was like he totally forgot about their weekend at the Grand Canyon until one day. Chloe looking through the photos when she felt a pair of arms sneak around her waist.

"I was wondering where those had gone." She heard Jay's voice whisper.

A/N: Is that better, spacemonkey?


End file.
